There followed a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?" Luke 23:27,28,31

"Sunt lacrimae rerum" – there will always be things to weep over, as the Roman poet Virgil said. The question is, what shall we weep for? When we truly follow Jesus on his way of the cross, even our emotions undergo a change, and what we love, hate, are happy about and weep for is taken up into an ongoing process of conversion.

The Curé was told on being appointed to Ars: there is not much love of God in that parish. That gave him something to weep over, and towards the end of his life, when his teeth were falling out and his words became unclear, all he could often do in his homilies was to shed copious tears, as he pointed to the tabernacle and repeated over and over again,

"He is there! He is there!"

Can we see beneath the surface of our contemporary world, with all its hype and glamour, to weep with Jesus for the emptiness of a life lived without him, for the tragedy of rejecting the greatest love we could ever be offered?

"Tell me, my friend, what harm has Our Lord done you that you treat him like this? Even animals do not forget the kindness shown them, but Christians forget the goodness of a God who has loved them so much."

PRAYER

Father, as we continue with your Son on his way to the cross, cleanse the depths of our hearts, so that we rejoice at what makes you glad, and weep for what saddens you. Unite us ever more closely with the merciful heart of your Son, who gave himself for us sinners, and is alive and reigning with you and the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Father…

For the sins of His own nation
Saw Him hang in desolation
Till His spirit forth He sent.

Sunday, 25 March 2012

The Annunciation and Walsingham

The Pynson Ballad (an extract of which appears below) relates that Our Lady asked Richeldis to build the Chapel in Walsingham ‘where shall he had in memorial the great joys of my salutation.’ The picture of Mary listening and responding to God’s call coming to her through the angel has inspired art and poetry throughout the ages, and a spirituality which is at the heart of the Faith. When a devout woman in the crowd, overcome with the preaching of Jesus, raised her voice to shower praise on his mother, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked,’ Jesus recalled her to the secret of his mother’s blessedness, and invited her to share it. ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.’ (Luke 11:27-28).A little earlier in the Gospel Jesus had commented, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put into practice.’ (Luke 8:21). Mary exemplifies all the faithful who respond to the call of the prophets to ‘hear the Word of the Lord.’ The Shrine at Walsingham exists to recall Mary’s total surrender to the word and will of God, and her willingness to believe it. Pilgrims come to Walsingham to share in this, and many seek the will of God to find their vocation or a new direction in life.It was Mary’s attentiveness to God, and her obedience, that made possible the incarnation of the Son of God. The Word was made flesh in her, but in as much as she is our pattern, the Word is made flesh, in a sense, in all believers. Through the ‘incarnate’ life of Jesus, God entered into the world and is visibly seen by those with eyes to see him, especially amongst the sick, the poor, the rejected and the ‘sinners’. Nowhere is the incarnation more visible than in the lives of men and women who hear and respond, as did the first disciples, to the call to ‘leave everything behind and follow him.’ Some Jesus calls to sell everything they own and give to the poor. Others respond to his call to leave ‘house, wife, brothers, parents of children.’ (Luke 18:29). Unsurprisingly, Geoffrey de Favarches wanted a community of men, who lived this kind of life, to care for his mother’s Chapel in Walsingham. For centuries there were Augustinian canons in Walsingham, and Franciscans, till all were swept away. But they were bound by the power of this place to come back.

We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

The story of Veronica, who overcomes her fear of other people’s reaction as she moves out with compassion to Jesus and is rewarded with an imprint of his face on her towel, is not found in Scripture, but expresses a profound Christian instinct about our creation in God’s image.

"How beautiful a soul is! The image of God is reflected in a pure soul like the sun in water. Our souls are made in his image. He sees them, he contemplates them eternally, and when they are truly pure, he sees himself in each of them like little mirrors."

As the Curé implies, that image of God in us needs to be purified by overcoming our self-love and giving our lives completely to Christ, who in a unique way is the radiant image of the Father’s glory. This can take place especially through works of love and mercy like that of Veronica:

"How beautiful it is, how great it is to know, love and serve God! That is all we have to do in this world. Anything else is a waste of time. Men and women were created by love; that is why they are so excited by loving. Human beings, created by love, cannot live without love: either they love God, or they love themselves and the world."

PRAYER

Father, help us when we would like to act with generosity and compassion, but are afraid of what others will say. May the example of Veronica and the reward she received help us to overcome fear by love, and so grow into the likeness of your only Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

And as they led Jesus away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. Luke 23:26

Simon’s appearance on the scene is a welcome reminder that we do not make the Way of the Cross alone or as a private devotion: we are all in it together as far as sin is concerned, and the same is true for our redemption.

For the Curé of Ars this solidarity with sinners was expressed above all in the confessional, sometimes for as long as eighteen hours a day. His gift of reading people’s hearts is well-known; less so the frequent tears he shed for his penitents. When asked once why he wept so much,he replied,

"I weep because you do not weep enough."

But he went further: as he told a fellow-priest,

"I give my penitents a small penance and do the rest for them."

In addition to the ordained priesthood, Christ’s redeeming death brought into being the royal priesthood in which all lay people share. This priesthood, too, is expressed in solidarity with other sinners, out of love for Jesus Christ whose cross we desire to carry with him. The Curé was once overheard in church in the middle of the night, praying with tears for the conversion of his parish.

"How beautiful it is to offer ourselves every morning in sacrifice to God. How many souls we can convert through our prayers."The CuréPRAYER

Jesus, may the heroic example of St John-Marie Vianney inspire us to offer you gladly our prayers and sacrifices each day for the conversion of the world. May the royal priesthood in which we share become a joyful reality for us as we take some of the weight of your cross like Simon of Cyrene, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Father…

Is there one who would not weep
Whelmed in miseries so deep
Christ’s dear Mother to behold?

Simeon said to Mary, his mother: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also."Luke 2:34-35

The Curé has a childlike admiration for God’s handiwork in creating Our Lady:

"The good God could have created a more beautiful world than the one which actually exists, but he could not have brought into being a more perfect creature than Mary."The CuréThis grace given to Mary is, however, entirely related to her divine maternity, that is, to her motherhood of the Son of God, and of the Church.

"The heart of the most Holy Virgin is the source from which Jesus drew the blood which redeemed us. Our Lady brought us to birth twice: at the Incarnation and at the foot of the Cross: she is thus our mother twice over."The CuréHow could such a mother not share her son’s compassion for sinners?

"Our Lady is so good that she always treats us with love and never punishes us. In the heart of the Most Holy Virgin, there is nothing but mercy! The greater our sin, the more tenderness and compassion she has for us. The child who costs his mother the most tears is the dearest to her heart. Doesn’t a mother always chase after the weakest and most vulnerable child? Isn’t a doctor in a hospital concerned above all about the most seriously ill patients?" The CuréPRAYERFather, as we contemplate the compassionate love of the Virgin Mary, the mother of your Son, may her prayers give us the strength to share his cross, and the compassion to pray and work for the salvation of all, especially those most in need of your mercy. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

"I am bowed and brought to my knees; I go mourning all the day long." Psalm 37:6.

As we contemplate this first fall of Jesus, the reality of the cross begins to sink in. This is not some abstract idea, or beautiful theme for meditation, but a man, God’s son, consumed by love and crushed to the ground by the weight of humanity’s rejection of his love. Worst of all is the ingratitude of us who have tasted that love, but so often turn away. Well may this Man of Lovestumble and fall!

"Ah, if we understood his love, if we could see his heart all aflame with goodness, compassion and mercy, we would loathe our sins, we would howl with grief for them day and night. But there you are, we give no heed to the infinite goodness of Our Lord, to all that he has done for us. What miserable wretches we are! Jesus could have saved the world by simply lowering his eyes before his Father, yet he willed to be the man of sorrows, the man of all sorrows. He is a God who descends to earth to be the victim of our sins, a God who suffers, a God who dies, a God who endures every kind of torment because he wills to bear the weight of our crimes!" The Curé.

PRAYER
As we follow the way of your cross, Jesus, may your Holy Spirit melt the hardness of our hearts and give us a new vision of the infinite abyss of your mercy. May our hearts beat again in unison with yours and desire nothing more than to welcome your love and share it with all the world, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

Our Father…

Oh, how sad and sore distressed
Was that mother highly blessed
Of the sole-begotten one!

About Me

The Society of St Paul is a congregation of Catholic priests and brothers whose mission is to proclaim the message of the Gospel using the means of modern communications. We are part of the worldwide Pauline Family.
Through books, magazines, journals, film, radio, television, video and the internet, the Society of St Paul continues the vision of its founder, Blessed James Alberione, to follow in the missionary footsteps of St Paul the Apostle in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.
Born in 1884, Fr James Alberione felt called to serve the Church in a particular way during a vigil of prayer on New Year’s Eve 1900. In 1914, from this spirit-filled vision, emerged the Society of St Paul. Fr James died on 26th November 1971 and was Beatified by Pope John Paul II on 27th April 2003.
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